After school, I unwillingly watched everyone else exit the class as I sat in the desk, waiting for further instructions from Mr. Shin. Our teacher went to the office to grab some paperwork and told us to stay put. Sehun waited beside me and looked at me. He then went into his bag and dug out a small case. "Mi-hyun," he called.

"Yeah?" I turned to face him and he held out the little case to me. "What's this?" I asked and hesitantly took it from his hand.

Sehun grinned, "I got this during my trip to China, it's a little souvenir for you."

I smiled, "Thank you, Sehun." I opened the small box to find a jade necklace inside. It was a small, but amazingly sculpted jade. The translucent jewel was in a shade of rich green and it had a dragon engraved on the surface. I held the beauty in my hand and admired it until Sehun took from my hand. I looked up at the handsome boy who had a smile on his face.

"It'll look great on you, Mi-hyun," Sehun said and fastened it around my neck.

Before he could do so, I suddenly remembered something and reached the necklace that was hanging around my neck. It was the diamond necklace Luhan gave me on our birthday. It had been around me for so long that I wasn't aware of it's presence anymore. I quickly took it off and held it in my hand. Sehun didn't say anything but leaned in close to put on the jade necklace for me.

After the jade hung around my neck, Sehun's hand didn't leave me. His fingers trailed from my neck to my cheeks and caressed me gently. I felt blood rushing into my cheeks and looked away from Sehun.

"Mi-hyun, are you blushing?" Sehun questioned teasingly.

I backed off a little, "Of course, I would be embarrassed if a boy began to touch my face like that."

Sehun laughed, "But I'm not just any boy, right?" I shrugged and didn't know what to say. There were butterflies destroying my tummy and I was smiling like an idiot.

Before neither of us could say anything, the room door swung open and Luhan stood in the doorway. "I see you two are getting close eh?" Mr brother said and eyed us weirdly. I immediately pressed my lips into a thin line and glared at him. Sehun stood up and greeted Luhan but received no response.

Behind Luhan followed Mr. Shin, who held a stack of paper in his hands. I quickly put Luhan's necklace away and looked over respectfully. We didn't get any more time to talk as the teacher handed out work, I was grateful for that. Luhan and Sehun was put to start studying math while I carried stacks of papers in my arms around the class. I rearranged all the files in alphabetical order and put all the students' information paper into the correct spots.

The work took quite a while for me to complete, and I even as I did, I knew chores waited for me. I then stacked the chairs in class, swept the floor, dusted the shelves, and rearranged the text books. It seemed as if there would always be work for me. During my work time, I didn't dare to speak to the boys at all mainly because I didn't want to talk to Luhan.

When I was in the middle of wiping the tables, Mr. Shin stood up from his seat and called us. "I have some things to handle at home today. If you guys are not quite finished yet, here are the keys. Remember to lock up when you leave the room and turn off the lights," Mr. Shin said and handed a bundle of keys to Luhan. "Leave the keys in the office after you lock the classroom. I'll get going now. If you need any help, Mr. Lee should be next door to help you out."

Luhan took the keys from the teacher and nodded. Then Mr. Shin took his leave.

After the teacher left, Luhan looked at Sehun and I, then at my neck where the jade necklace Sehun gave me was present. "Where's the necklace I gave you?" Luhan questioned and took a step closer to me.

"Do I have to wear it all the time?" I shot back.

Luhan paused for a moment and questioned again, "Why aren't you wearing the necklace I gave you?"

Sehun stood out to defend me. "Luhan, let's be mature about this matter. Mi-hyun should get her freedom on the accessory she wears."

I nodded along with Sehun. "Yeah. Luhan, from the way you've been acting towards me. I honestly don't think I could still keep this on me all the time." Sehun heard my words and glanced at me but kept quiet.

Luhan laughed bitterly. "Of course Mihyun, I see. Why did I even give it to you in the first place?"

I took out the Diamond necklace from my bag and held it out to him. Luhan stared at me as a wave of pain flashed across his eyes. He grabbed the necklace and scoffed. "Mi-hyun, I can't believe you picked his stupid jade over my diamond."

"Shut up. Why are you acting so childish these days? Stop complaining, you should know by now that I do things my way," I shot back and cursed him in my mind.

"Ha ha, I can indeed make you suffer though. What can't I do? I framed Tao and got him suspended for two weeks. I also made you skip a class and receive detention, but trust me, I'm capable of a lot of other things too," Luhan said with a crooked grin and walked up to me. He roughly grabbed my bag from me as well as Sehun's bag before walking out from the classroom. I stood there in silence as my brother slammed the door behind him. Sehun and I exchanged a glance.

"Where do you think you are going with our backpacks?" I called after him.

Suddenly, the lock on the door clicked. Sehun gasped as he quickly ran over to the door before I realized what happened. Sehun grabbed the doorknob and turned, but the door wouldn't open. We were locked inside by Luhan.

"Damn it, he’s crazy..." Sehun exclaimed and pounded on the door a few more times.

"Is he serious?" I said but suddenly lost all the strength in my body as I felt my knees grow weak. Before I knew it, I was sitting on the floor. Sehun quickly helped me up and the two of us sat on the chairs in the classroom. Our bags were taken by Luhan, I had my cell phone in there and Sehun probably did too.

I began to panic but I had absolutely no strength to stand up. Sehun shuffled close and wrapped an arm around my shoulder. "Mi-hyun, it's alright."

"Are you sure?"

"Yep. But before I can get us out, may I ask you something? And you can't lie to me." Sehun said in a surprisingly calm voice.

I nodded.

"Did something happen with you and Luhan?"

I didn't know how to respond at first. I thought back to everything, from the first time Luhan had class with Xiumin and his friends, to the fights we had, have, to how he bullied me along with Xiumin, to how I was forced to clean their house, and to now. I honestly didn't know what was happening. This might sound terrible, but there were times when a sibling would want to beat, fight, or even kill the other, right? Perhaps this was part of what all siblings go through.

Sure, Luhan was extremely annoying at first, but I felt like we gradually grew closer as time passed by. I was able to regard him as a family member, and I was able to care for him. What could that boy possibly want from me?

"So... Why don't you start with everything that happened after I left?" Sehun said softly and looked into my eyes, making my stomach light up.

I nodded and cleared my throat. "I guess it started before you left. Luhan's attitude toward me changed. Whenever I asked him to do something, he regarded me in annoyance. I can understand why, but I want him to go on the right path. When he hung out with Xiumin for the first time, I tried to stop him, but then he told me that I was a bother, that I was annoying. That's when I decided to leave him alone. But he should understand, as his sister, I want him to stay safe..."

Sehun didn't say anything but gestured for me to keep going.

"And then what happened was entirely my own fault... I lost my wallet and it ended up in Xiumin's hands. Ha ha, I was doomed from that moment on. They threatened me that if I didn't do what they said, they would sell my wallet, and everything inside. Trust me, there were things I wouldn't want to lose. My health card, my student card, my this card and that card. So I followed their orders and ended up cleaning their house," I said with a bitter smile.

"What did Luhan do? He didn't harass you or anything right? I mean, ually?" Sehun fretted.

I jumped and shook my head furiously, and the jade necklace Sehun gave me shimmered. "No way! I'm sure he wouldn't go that far... But he did watch me suffer and made fun of me. It's okay though, I am fine. But then, I slept over at their house because I had no other choice. The next morning, I didn't wake up in time for school, and there was an important test that day."

"Let me guess, that's how you got into detention?" He asked.

"Pretty much."

After the brief explanation to Sehun, I felt so much better for letting everything out. We sat at our desks in silence. Sehun turned to me and looked at me, he placed his hand on my head and ruffled my hair. Under his touch, I felt my face grow warm.

Suddenly, I regretted rejecting Sehun's proposal the last time... My stomach fluttered and I looked away shyly. Sehun just watched me and smiled. Then he stood up and told me that he was going to get us out of here.

Since Luhan took away both of our bags which contained our cell phones, we had no choice but to get someone's attention from outside. Luckily, the janitor eventually came around and went to our classroom. He was very surprised to find the two of us locked in the classroom and quickly let us out.

Sehun offered to walk me to my bus stop first, and I let him. I felt calm and loved around Sehun... Maybe my feelings were coming back? I surely hoped Sehun still felt the same way about me.

While we waited by the bus stop, Sehun talked to me more. His voice soothed my feelings and made me feel like things weren't going too bad. But when I came to realize that Luhan might do something terrible to our backpacks, I couldn't help but tense up again.

"Hey, what if Luhan does something bad to our bags? Like last time, he'll threaten us again..." I said, getting worried.

Sehun went quiet for a moment. "It's alright Mi-hyun. We can either call the school, tell your parents, or even go to the cops. It's fine."

"This all happened because of me... I shouldn't have made him mad," I said and thought back to my attitude which I was starting to regret. Why did I talk that way to Luhan? The diamond necklace he gave me was very precious to him, it was the only thing he had of his mother's. I suddenly felt ashamed of myself for hurting Luhan like that. But on the other hand, he was the one who hurt me... I shouldn't have to apologize.

"Mi-hyun, listen to me," Sehun said seriously and placed his hands on my shoulders. "This really isn't your fault. Luhan may be going through some things in his life right now. He is trying to figure things out. He is trying to make his own decisions, we should give him some space for now."

"But he is clearly hanging out with the wrong people and making wrong decisions!" I exclaimed.

Sehun looked deep into my eyes. "He is on the fence and we can't do anything about it. He might fall to the right side, or the other. Just give him some time to think."

"Can you possibly guess what might be wrong with him though? Like what is he so confused over?" I questioned more, not wanting to hear this as my final answer.

"I... Don't know... But I might have an idea..." Sehun said quietly. I was going to ask more, but the bus arrived. I waved good bye to Sehun and got on the big vehicle.

When I arrived at home, it was almost seven o'clock. My parents were already home and as soon as I unlocked the door and stepped in, the delicious smell of dinner filled my nose.

To my surprise, both Sehun's bag and my bag lay on the floor by the door. I felt guilty for thinking that Luhan might do something to it. It looked like he wasn't completely bad after all. Maybe Sehun was right, I should just leave my brother alone.

When I walked past Luhan's room, his room door was shut. I felt sad because Luhan was never the type of person to always shut himself in his room. I went to the kitchen to find my mother and father chatting as they cooked. I greeted them and went to my room.

Ever since Luhan dyed his hair pink, my dad hadn’t been able to regard him properly anymore. My mom tried to convince Luhan to dye his hair back to black, or to a darker color, but he refused.

~~~~

The boy lay in silence. He held the diamond necklace in his hand and stared into it. He felt shattered and broken. Mi-hyun chose Sehun’s jade over his diamond necklace. That necklace meant so much to him. When he gave it to her on their birthday night, he wanted to show her how much she meant to him. But it was as if she didn't see him at all, she always held back around him and always regarded him like a little brother who needed care.

At least he had other people on his side who shared the same bond. Luhan felt much better just thinking about his newly developed friendship. If he wasn't good enough for her as a man now, he was determined to be later in time. One day, he decided, one day, he would take her.

It was dark outside. He looked out the window at the passing by scenery of rural Beijing. Villages and villages passed by in front of his eyes.

Listening to his parent's conversation, the lids of his eyes slowly grew heavy and the tired boy decided to rest.

A loud crash was what jerked his awake. The shock lingered on his body as he felt heat starting to emit around him. He gazed up to see the most horrifying nightmare in his life and his body froze.

The front of the car was unrecognizable. The windshield was mostly gone and the broken glass covered everything.

The next thing the boy saw was blood. Lots of blood.

He was traumatized.

That was the end. The end of his happy life, his family, his everything.

"Luhan, you must look at what's ahead of you in the future. You have to stay positive."

"Luhan, you should be going soon."

"Luhan, you will have a new home."

"I wish for the best in your future, Luhan."

"Hello, you must be Mrs. Rim I suppose? And you must be their daughter. This is Luhan, who will be joining your family. He is not used to having strangers around so he might be a little shy. Luhan, this is Mrs. Rim, she will be your foster mom starting today,"

A tear rolled down from his cheek. He quickly wiped it off and forced everything back in. He didn't want to cry anymore.